By Zachary Swickey
It appears U2 hope to inject some youthfulness into their new album with the help of the writing team behind recent UK boy band sensation (and Saturday's “SNL” performers) One Direction.
The Sun is reporting that Bono and the U2 crew have recruited Swedish pop songwriter Carl Falk – the man responsible for many of One Direction’s hits – to collaborate with them on their upcoming thirteenth album.
Apparently, Bono wasn’t thrilled with the lukewarm reception of their last album – 2009’s No Line on the Horizon – and is eager to write some new hits so the band can “survive.” The frontman didn’t think their last album produced enough hit singles, but we think they'll be alright.
U2 have the right team in mind to reinvigorate their sound with One Direction being the first ever UK group to debut at number one with their first album in the United States.
Other big names reportedly in the studio with U2 include Danger Mouse – who is still riding the success of producing the Black Keys’ most recent adored album El Camino – and Redone, who is responsible for Gaga’s monster hits “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance.”
However, Falk himself is the one who let the news of the U2 collab slip, saying coyly, “There’s a long way to go but we are doing something with U2."
Falk’s songwriting credits include Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” and One Directions “What Makes You Beautiful” for those curious about the writer’s specific sound. Hopefully we’ll get to hear his results with U2 before the end of 2012.
Getting one album a year set up and released is enough of a chore amid the smoking ruins of the music business. While albums frequently dropped every four to six months in the 1960s, unless you're multi-band-leader 
By Rya Backer
Now that was an "OMG!" moment.